Harley Benton CST-24T Ocean Flame 5-stars Reviews

Blue Dream

I am only a hobbyist not a gigging musician, so I cannot give a detailed technical review. However, the CST-24T I received needed only tuning up before it was eminently playable. In appearance the blue is much darker than I expected, though still very attractive. The tremolo arm hung loose, but after some research I discovered that it could be tightened via a tiny screw under the bridge using the.

small allen key supplied. It was quite tricky to do, like keyhole surgery, but I managed it. As has been mentioned by another reviewer, the Telecaster type knobs do not look right on this guitar, and would ideally be replaced by speed knobs. That aside, this is a beautiful guitar which plays like a dream.

I was very careful about this brand, but it turned out to be in vain. Having pulled the guitar out of the box, I was pleasantly surprised by its beauty. Upon careful examination, I did not find any flaws, it really looks more expensive than it costs. My guitar was completely weakened anchor rod, so I had to make a complete detuning. And I was once again surprised that the frets are smooth and do not require polishing, as is usual with guitars of this price category. The guitar sounds great, replacement of pickups is not required. I did not find any disadvantages for myself. I really liked the guitar, the low price does not affect its quality in any way, but comes as a pleasant bonus. Thanks to everyone who is involved in creating such great guitars.

Я был очень осторожен к этому бренду, но оказалось напрасно. Вытащив гитару из коробки, я был приятно удивлен её красотой. При внимательном осмотре ни каких изъянов не нашел, она действительно выглядит дороже чем стоит. У моей гитары был полностью ослаблен анкерный стержень, поэтому пришлось сделать полную отстройку. И был еще раз удивлен, что лады ровные и не требую шлифовки, как обычно у гитар такой ценовой категории. Звучит гитара замечательно, замена звукоснимателей не требуется. Ни каких минусов для себя я не нашел. Гитара очень понравилась, низкая цена ни как не сказывается на её качестве, а идет как приятный бонус. Спасибо всем кто участвует в создании таких замечательных гитар.

Great guitar, with great personality and a really strong sound

This guitar is really awesome if compared with the low price that costs.

First of all, let me say that this is not a PRS. I already owe a PRS and that's another instrument... but it has a totally different cost too.

For this CS24, we can say that:

1. it comes with a fantastic top, much more reflecting and lively coloured than it appears in the images posted here

2. the pickups are very loud and strong, and they hold a good sustain even at lower volume

3. the mechanics are solid, the guitar stays in tune

4. the bridge is strong and does not make the string lose the tuning

5. the strings are D'addario .10 very good

6. the feeling it gives to me is very similar to a PRS sensation

anyway, for the sake of truth we must point out some very little drawback:

1. the wood of the neck is similar to rosewood but the neck came wet with a dark colour paint, that in the beginning remained attached to the fingerprints; however, after a little cleaning with oil and wood polishers, it has disappeared

2. the action of the strings was initially too much low and needed to be easily adjusted with the truss rod

3. there are some flaw o paint at the edges of the top, in the point of attach to the neck, but almost invisible and negligible

4. the tremolo bar lacks of a stopping pin (PRS had one behind the bridge) so it can fall out if we pull up (but this is not a defect, since the original design of this guitar is just made as this)

Definetly not a perfect instrument, but very very impressive!

My advice is to buy it without thinking so much!

Can't fault it

A little tune up and it sound great straight out of the box. Nice change in tone switching through the pickups and the option to split the coils with the tone switch is a great feature for a guitar at such a low price point. Handles blues, rock and metal with ease, nothing about this guitar feels budget. The finish is spot on with no blemishes, the fretboard might like a dab of oil but otherwise is spot on. The action is a little high for me so I'll address that but it would definitely not bother a lot of people at all. Tremolo works fine, guitar could really benefit from locking tuners which I'm sure people wouldn't mind paying a bit extra for.

-Pros

Quality feel and weight

Beautiful colour

Great tone

Very playable out of the box

-Cons (I'm reaching but I had to find something!)

Would be great with locking tuners on the tremolo models

Tone can be improved (always) but looking online some very reasonable mods can be carried out on these to elevate it a bit more

Really wanted the Charcoal Flame finish but on a solid body rather than hollow...sort it out HB and I'll buy one!

Solid Instrument

Instrument arrived well packed. Pulled out of box, tuned it, and proceeded to played for hours. Fret edges were clean, intonation was spot on, action was perfect. No buzzing. I have purchased "budget" instruments before and typically you get what you pay for in this price range. This is far and away a better quality instrument and so much more for the price. Finish had a few imperfections but the blue flamed top was still nice to look at. Would not hesitate to purchase another Harley Benton.

Overall well finished, good guitar

I was very excited to get this guitar.

I'm mainly a bass player but play guitar on the side for recording and home use.

This is the first time i ordered a guitar without playing it before.

My expectations were kinda shaped by the youtube research i did before (which is overall very positive).

Mine took about a week to get delivered in Holland.

Pros:

It was absolutely playable right out of the box.

Although action was set quite high, it was in tune.

Paintjob is flawless, frets are very nicely finished and the fretboard looks realy nice too... no glue traces, spots, cracks or anything like that.

Small detail: mine is 'made in China' as opposed to 'Vietnam' like most recent reviews

Tuners feel solid. No problem tuning and the guitar stays in tune, even after bending strings.

The Roswell pickups sound great and with the split coil option u get an extra set of different tones... clearly audible without loadz of distortion.

The versatility was actually my main reason i chose this guitar.

Electronics work as they should and the controls feel solid as well.

Cons:

A bit of a downer was the actual flame on the top. On my CST it is kinda subtle, hardly visble when not in direct daylight.

Definitely not as eye-catching like i've seen in most videos and pictures.

Also, the tremolo was setup very tight. It really needs to be pushed down hard which makes it hard to make a fluid bend. I guess this can be fixed by adjusting the trem.

Furthermore, after bending with the tremolo, the guitar tends to get out of tune a bit. This is probably due to the nut.

Apart from the downsides as mentioned above it's a great guitar for the price.

So far it's definetely on par with the VM Squier and Ibanez guitars and basses i've played

It sounds great, and It absolutely looks and feels way more expensive then it is.

So far it is so fun to play, i have given way to little love to my basses these past days.

All the Quality os a PRS SE for a Fraction of the cost!

Great guitar! Never going to use the tremolo, but the wilkinson tremelo is superior to the standard bridge version, and I just locked it down. I did add locking tuners, as do on most of my guitars but that was by choice, and the tuners ion it worked good. Fits and finish are stellar, and the setup was almost complete. just some minor things like a turn on the truss rod, and it was ready to play. This guitar feels good plays good and had great tone.

How is this possible!

I had been considering a PRS SE for a while until I found harley benton. I now have 4 harley bentons, but this is by far the best of the bunch.

What really surprised me is that the frets came polished and everything was perfectly set up... Even my ibanez which cost more than double the price came with scratchy frets and in need of a full setup.

Harley benton can be a lucky dip in terms of quality and so far 2/4 guitars I have received have been perfect... however I think once you get into the "higher end" ones like this one, the quality control is more strict. The 2 more expensive ones I have received were the ones that were bang on.

I'm glad I discovered Harley Benton, because this guitar is 95% of the PRS SE I tried but at a fraction of the cost.

Overall a stunning guitar.

Worth its price

Good quality for the price and nice sound.

Best guitar for the Money

I am a fairly well-seasoned guitar, and also a smart shopper. This is my favorite guitar I've ever owned. The quality out of the box was staggering regardless of the price, but the affordable price was certainly the cherry on top. I did adjust the truss rod and saddles a bit (you always have to after shipping a guitar) and everything was smooth. I also did change the pickups. The ones it came with were fine, but just not my style. I will reiterate: I have owned over 40 guitars over my life and this is my all time favorite. The frest ends are perfect, the guitar is beautiful, the neck shape is a perfect compromise between speed and comfort. Buy this guitar.

Beautiful guitar!!

First of all, the color is beautiful. This guitar is perfect. Right out of the box, all I had to do was lower the action and tune it. No fret buzz at all. I am very happy with this purchase. I will definitely buy another Harley Benton.

All reviews were good but it has exceeded my expectations

Nothing prepares you for actally touching and looking at it physically.

Lovely

I opened the box and was genuinely pleased with what was in it, the finish is up to epiphone standards( I also own an epiphone) and playability out of the box is very good just a quick retune( not a tweak of the machines) good intonation so it was plugged in and given a thrashing within minutes, would I recommend buying one,oh yes without hesitation, for the price point you won't buy better.

Cant be beaten for the money

I think this probably gives PRS nightmares .. or it should. Of course there is nothing like owning the real thing and there are the odd bits that wont stand up to a "real" one or even the SE's but for the money its really not bad at all. an hour or so of set up and it plays well looks fantastic (as long as you are not too critical) and sounds pretty good.

I wouldnt call it a poor mans PRS its just a good guitar

Amaying for the money!

This guitar is absolutely amazing for the money. Even on a basic amp, it sounds very warm and has a nice tone. It is stunningly beautiful (I have the blue one). It feels great and plays great. The only problem I have is some cosmetic problems on the fretboard and on the finish, but this is nothing serious and really details. As some people wrote, the fretboard is a bit dry, but you can easily put some lemon oil on it. Overall, if you're an intermediate player and do not want to spend a lot of money, but want a quality guitar, this one is for you!

Exellent value and sound

Great looking & sounding guitar.

I am but a simple bedroom (basement, actually) player, having great fun with this guitar.

The value for money is immense - some cosmetic imperfections, but the actual quality in fretwork (which matters a lot), nut and tremolo is downright surprising. Stays in tune with tremolo use - this is not a given - and the coil split is handy.

Somewhat high weight and my copy seems to have a little extra in the bottom end which makes it slide to the right a bit when sitting. I'm guessing this will be solved by using a strap.

Overall, highly recommended!

a nice prs copy

its a nice well built guitar plays good and sounds good .

Best Value Guitar Out There

I've been playing guitar for over ten years now, and have owned everything from American Standard Strat on down to the worst budget guitar you can imagine. I bought this just to see what all the youtube buzz was about

Pros

The color looks great. The pickups are decent. Tuners actually work (not always a given at this price). Has a great feeling neck, but that is a personal opinion. Absolutely amazed they can pull it off at this price.

Cons

The setup was poor, nut not cut properly, a couple of high frets causing some buzz, action was high. However, i've seen these same problems in guitars at double this price point. In fact, I don't mind paying 50 bucks more to get a good setup from my tech, and everyone should expect that with a budget guitar.

The roswell pickups do not sound very different from each other. I'm prolly gonna throw some Duncans I have lying around in there so this doesn't bother me, but it may be a problem for some people.

Lastly, I wouldn't try take this to a gig with the stock output jack. Spend the five bucks for a switchcraft.

Overall, I wish "beginner" guitars were this good when I started playing.

What a looker - Very Impressive

I was looking for a guitar to start learning, and that would last for the future. As a mature beginner, I was looking for something with not only looks, but some substance and value behind it. I trawled many written and video reviews for the Harley Benton range, and finally plumped for the CST-24T in Ocean Flame. A big thanks to Cory Mura and Nick from the States for the fantastic information and breadth of reviews for this brand. It really helped with making my choice.

The guitar and additional items I had ordered arrived in good time and well packaged. On opening, I was blown away with the quality look and feel of this guitar. I carried out a check on the cosmetics and set-up of the guitar (Thanks again to Cory's video) and it was flawless, barring a tiny cosmetic blemish tucked away in a corner. Neck relief, action height, intonation all set-up well.

As a beginner, it is difficult/impossible for me to comment on the Electronics and sound quality, as I have nothing to compare it to, but to me it sounds a plays great.

I am very happy with this purchase, and for the price it just oozes quality.

hands down best buy

I have a dark cherry PRS Artist and it is not better than the CST-24T. For the money you are getting a great value and a wonderful sounding instrument. My next guitar will be a Harley Benson as well. Frets are dressed wonderfully, neck perfect size between a C and D. Top cover is beautiful. You cant by a PRS for near the price. Dont buy Chinese with all the problems when you can get a HB fast and with quality.